On Summit

In a previous post , I channeled my inner-Woody Hayes to offer shout outs to the contractors who are helping make our Akron almost-mansion a habitable reality. Now, I want to give shout outs to the family who have been with us every step of the way too. A pair of siblings are seated on a functioning radiator in an otherwise empty room, save a portable table saw. They are smiling and appear happy. Before we embarked on this journey we held a "family meeting" where I laid out our plan (such as it was. LOL.) and described what we were going to need to make this project happen. Specifically, I made clear that my wife and I couldn't do this without their help. We lived (and still live) 110 miles away from the house we're trying to rehabilitate. I shared their would be times folks might be called upon to meet contractors, accept deliveries, take out trash, and otherwise represent our interests in matters related to the house. A group of people are pictured raking an unreaso...

You win with people. In Columbus, Ohio and particularly around The Ohio State University campus, it's a saying that's both well-known and well-loved. I use the phrase lot a myself, partly in earnest, and partly in sardonic reference to the deeply flawed and equally revered man who made it famous, OSU football coach Woody Hayes. Hayes coached The Ohio State University's football team to remarkable success during his two-decades plus career. Along the way he wrote a book ( You Win With People! ), supported Nixon, said objectionable things, and often exhibited such a volatile temper that one might rightly wonder why people would stick around long enough to do any winning at all. But I digress. As with most maxims, this one is true. Woody Hayes was right. You really do win with people. Sure, plans help. Budgets help. Strategies help and material resources help. At the end of the day though, success in any endeavor hinges on people. I've been thinking about this a lot in the...

While we've spent a lot of time this year working on the Akron almost-mansion, I don't want people to get the impression that's the only thing we do. Though it's maybe not reflected all the time in this blog, my wife and I have interests that extend beyond removing wallpaper, wandering around big box home improvement stores, and talking with contractors. Music and art remain interests of ours and we're quite happy to travel either when we can. A few weeks ago we went to Chicago and got to enjoy both. My wife is the biggest Patti Smith fan I know, yet she'd never seen her live. So when Patti Smith announced a series of concerts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her seminal album, "Horses" we jumped at the chance and purchased tickets for one of the shows at the iconic Chicago Theater. It was an amazing show, made even more special by the fact that Smith was born in Chicago and clearly holds the city close in her heart. The band and the venue sounde...

I feel like home renovation programs and content creators focus a lot on the before and after comparisons. To the extent that the goal of these undertakings is typically to go from one (before) to the other (after), this makes perfect sense. What gets lost though in this focus on results and comparisons is what it's like during the process. I was especially struck by this over the last month. During that time we've had four separate contractors in the house working on four separate rooms or projects.  Bill has been working on the kitchen. Matt is doing the second floor en suite bathroom. David and Pecos are doing drywall, and James has been doing some miscellaneous electrical work. And that's just the regulars. Add in the garage door technicians and the crew that came out to install the new radiator, and the almost mansion has been busier than ever in recent weeks. And it shows. Not only do people need room to work, they also need places to stage and store fixtures, materia...

Back in August my wife and I decided to each take a week off from our respective works and embark on a "Renovation Vacation" at the Akron almost-mansion. The impetus behind the trip was two-fold. One consideration was our realization that it's really hard to make any kind of concerted progress when you live two hours from a job site. By the time we get everything packed for a typical trip, drive to the house, get our work area organized and start working, it's just about time to head back home. The other consideration was that with all the delays we've seen with this house, we thought it would be good for morale if we could make even some small progress on our own. The plan then was to spend a week "camping out" at the house and doing light projects and cleaning while we were there. I say camping out since it's kind of what it was like. Yes, the house has electric and 70% plumbing (including two functional toilets), but there's no heat, no kitche...

Things have been happening at the Akron almost-mansion. The raccoons are gone and the roof is secure. The garage roof is mostly done (Long story. Don't ask). Work is commencing on the second bathroom, and the kitchen is in progress. Major appliances have been delivered. Tile is being bought and fixtures are being procured. Unfortunately, I've been doing a pretty terrible job of documenting this recent progress, so this post is something of a clip show. That is, progress told in the form of pictures other people had the foresight to take. Let's start with "Appliance Saturday". Since it's not always easy or convenient for me to be on site for deliveries, I tried to bunch all the major appliances to be delivered the same day in July. That included a washer, dryer, refrigerator, stove, range hood, and dishwasher. I feel lucky to have family in the area who are both supportive and flexible and who were able to be at the house and accept delivery for the earliest ar...